As we enter a brand new month, I consider it the real start to the year. We’re officially in spring and nature is emerging all around us, the tiny green leaves on the trees are starting to bloom, and so am I :)
But with a new month of April, it also importantly marks a milestone which is Little Roglets birthday, and this month we are turning FOUR!
According to UK money a whooping 71.1% of new businesses fail within the first 3 years. So I will take that lovely little stat with a pat on the back and celebrate another year in business.
Around my business birthday every year I like to take a moment to reflect on the year just gone, and whilst I am still very much learning every single day, I thought I’d share a few things I have learnt over the years building a creative, product-based business:
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Take risks and follow your gut, but for big things, use the rule of 3.
If you have a big decision to make, 1, take your time but 2, consolidate. Even if you don’t have any employees yet, run it past at least 3 different people for their views. This could be your partner, your friends or your Grandma. (I say this from experience, and is something I’ve only recently adopted and learnt through my mistake of NOT doing previously!)
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Keep doing the work on yourself. I personally believe that running your own business is the biggest spiritual journey you’ll ever go on - it’s not just about the business but how much you are willing to get to know yourself over, and over and over. The biggest hurdles I have faced have been the ones where I have been blocking myself, out of fear or protection. Without looking at the deep rooted things which were keeping me stuck, I wouldn’t have been able to climb over them and reach the next part of the mountain 🤎
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Delegate, delegate and delegate some more. I can’t believe for so long I did the whole thing on my own, wearing every possible hat under the sun, it’s no wonder I spent those first few years, not proudly, burnt out. I completely understand at the beginning of the journey you often don’t have the luxury of taking on others, but there’s always an option of loving friends or partners, or even the possibility of an intern.
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Comparison is the thief of joy. Get really good at being in your own lane, and stay there. Especially for a creative business - stay true to your style and the right people will find you.
- The value of a good business mentor. The person I didn’t realise the business and I needed! With more of a creative brain myself, introducing a more strategic brain in the mix has done wonders and it’s been great to have a neutral person involved as their views of the company are not biased.
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And I think the biggest til last - honouring myself as a business owner as a woman. Honouring my natural cycles rather than the 24 hour clock that we have been programmed to work like, to be ‘on’ all the time. Shifting the way I work to suit my own rhythm, not the worlds, has helped me in all areas of my life.
I hope you’ll join me in wishing Little Roglets a happy 4th birthday and thank you so much if you are reading this and have contributed to us being able to reach this milestone. I’m grateful for you always!
L x
